In this toughest job market in a generation, misery is looking for company – and it’s easier to find than ever online, where groups are springing up for out-of-work people to connect, commiserate and offer hard-earned advice.
“It’s kind of distressing in a way to see the response to this community,” said Sarah Rudek, 28, a Minnesota resident who started Team Unemployed in June after a freelance contract ended and she needed to find full-time work. “But it’s great that people are really appreciative.”
Starting a Web site, blog or online group is easier than ever, so jobless-themed sites have been popping up all over. Some are darkly humorous, like Unemployment Haiku Weekly, which combines art in Depression-tinted sepia with haiku. (For instance: “The laid-off diet / Doesn’t pay attention to / Expiration dates.”)
But it’s not all about wallowing. Roni Lynn Zapin, president of a New York recruiting firm, started a group on the networking site LinkedIn for unemployed folks to help motivate one another. It’s called “Project: Get Hired!!”
“It’s got over 2,000 people from all disciplines, and the kinds of conversations that are going on in there really run the gamut and really are very helpful,” said Zapin, head of RL Zapin Associates Inc. “I monitor it to make sure it’s constantly positive. If I see anything negative on there, I take it off.” Web site for the unemployed
Read More...
“It’s kind of distressing in a way to see the response to this community,” said Sarah Rudek, 28, a Minnesota resident who started Team Unemployed in June after a freelance contract ended and she needed to find full-time work. “But it’s great that people are really appreciative.”
Starting a Web site, blog or online group is easier than ever, so jobless-themed sites have been popping up all over. Some are darkly humorous, like Unemployment Haiku Weekly, which combines art in Depression-tinted sepia with haiku. (For instance: “The laid-off diet / Doesn’t pay attention to / Expiration dates.”)
But it’s not all about wallowing. Roni Lynn Zapin, president of a New York recruiting firm, started a group on the networking site LinkedIn for unemployed folks to help motivate one another. It’s called “Project: Get Hired!!”
“It’s got over 2,000 people from all disciplines, and the kinds of conversations that are going on in there really run the gamut and really are very helpful,” said Zapin, head of RL Zapin Associates Inc. “I monitor it to make sure it’s constantly positive. If I see anything negative on there, I take it off.” Web site for the unemployed
- Pink Slips Are the New Black (pinkslipsarethe newblack.com), a blog “for unemployed people by unemployed people”
- No Job Survivor (nojob survivor.com), which bucks up visitors with the motto, “Don’t Worry; Life Is Still Good”
- LayoffSpace.com, which bills itself as the first social network for the out-of-work – it was started in 2007
- Team Unemployed, a community on LiveJournal that signed up more than 900 members in its first month Unsettling Numbers
- 15 million – Approximate number of Americans looking for work but unable to find it in August – 9.7% of the labor force.
- 25 million – The same statistic if unwilling part-time workers and job seekers who have given up are added.
- 9.6 million – The number of people looking for work in the same period one year ago.
- 6.9 million – Net total of jobs that have been eliminated by the recession so far.
Read More...